Benjamin piers



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen V1.

B. PIERS.

LOOK.

110.473,125. Patented Apr. 19, 1892.

v(No Model.)

2heets-Sheet 2. B. PIBRS.

LOCK.

PatentedApr. 1.9, 1892.

I 5 Imi" Hiim iUm

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN PIERS, OF XENIA, OHIO.

LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 473,125, dated April 19, 1892.

Application filed -September 28, 1891. Serial No. 407,045. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, BENJAMIN PIERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Xenia, in the county of Greene and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Locks; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invent-ion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to improvements in safety or burglar-proof locks; and

' the object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device of this character by which the doors of dwelling-houses, dac., may be locked from the inside without the use of au ordinary key and secured in such manner that the door cannot be unlocked by any one upon the outside of the room or eX- terior of the building when so secured, the device being at the same time adapted to be lactuated under ordinary conditions from the outside for the purpose of locking or unlocking the door by the use of a key in the usual way when the safety-button or device on the inside is in position topermit this to be done.

In using locks of the ordinary construction much trouble and inconvenience results from the loss or breakage of keys such as are generally employed, and it therefore becomes necessary to provide duplicate keys. These, however, are liable to be mislaid when removed from the lock, and when left in the lock they punch holes in plastered walls and catch onto clothing, dac., and great inconvenience is occasioned by the loss of a key when it is desired to hastily unlock a door. To overcome these and other objections to locks of the usual construction I have devised the improved device hereinafter' described, by which I dispense altogether with the use of a key for manipulating the lock from the inside of a room and at the same time adapt the lock to be operated by means of a key on the outside, thereby avoiding the necessity of usingindoor keys, and at the same time retaining all the advantages of a lock havingakey for operating the same from the outside of the room or building.

My invention will first be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and

then particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specication.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference are used to designate like parts of the device, Figure l is a sectional plan of my invention, showing the same applied to a door in the usual way. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the lock asit appears from the outside. Fig. 3 is a sectional bottoni plan of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation ofthe lock, partly in section, as it appears from the inside. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the cappiece of the knob, showing .the pivoted pawl or cam-lever in different positions. Fig. 7 is a detail inside view of the catch with safetybutton. Fig. S is a detail perspective View of the cap-piece with key operating upon the cam-lever, and Fig. 9 is a detail end View of the female portion of the knob.

A designates a bed-plate, which may be formed with the right-angled extension B, these parts being provided With suitable openings to receive the screws by which the bedplate is secured to the door in the ordinary manner.

@designates an arbor or spindle, which passes through the bed-plate at right angles thereto and has secured to the inner end thereof a cross-handle or knob D, the handle being preferably attached by means of ascrewthread formed upon the spindle and engaging the interiorly-screw-threaded cylindrical shank of the handle. The arbor C has also secured thereto a swinging sliding locking plate or catch E, which carries at its free end a swiveled safety-button f, adapted to engage slots F F2 in the bed-plate, as hereinafter described.

G designates a hollow post or sleeve, which is fitted upon the arbor C, so as to rotate therewith and at the same time permit the arbor to slide back and forth therein. This connection is made byslotting the post longitudinally, as at g, to receive the ends of a pin c, which passes transversely through the arbor and also through a sliding thimble or sleeve H, which is fitted to rotate and slide back and forth upon said post, the arbor and sleeve being thus adapted to be rotated and Ioo slid back and forth together as one.

The inner end of the post G projects through the bed-plate A, and has rigidly secu red thereto a swinging guide-plate E', which is provided with an elongated slot to receive the safety-button f of the swinging catch E and hold the same in proper position to engage either one of the slots F F2 when the knob is turned in the desired direction.

I designates a coiled or other suitable spring, which is placed upon the post G between the enlarged end of the thimble H and the bedplate A and tends to force said thimble outward, together With the arbor and the catch E, attached thereto, so as to hold the catch normally in engagement with one of the slots F and F2 with the door locked or unlocked, as may be desired.

J designates a sliding springpressed latch, which may be of any desired construction, butwhich is preferably formed integrally with or attached to a sliding' yoke or frame K, which is placed astride the arbor G and is provided with elongated slots 7a (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2) to receive lugs or pins 7s', which project from the bed-plate into said slots, these parts serving to guide the frame K as it moves back and 'forth for the purpose of engaging or discngaging thelatch with the keeper L. A spring Z may be attached to the extension B of the bed-plate orother suitable part of the device, so as to hold the latch J normally in engagement with the keeper.

The frame K has secured thereto a thumbpiece 7a2, which projects through a slot 7a3 in the bed-plate in position to be pressed bythe thumb or finger for the purpose of slidingthe frame backward against the pressure of the spring Z when it is desired to disengage the latch. The frame K is also provided with a projecting lug or two-'faced cam-picce M, for apurpose to be described. Acylindrical shell or barrel, which may have formed therewith or secured thereto the recessed head or female portion N of the knob N, is journaled upon the thimble H, so as to rotate freely thereon.

N2 designates a cap-piece, which forms the male portion of the knob and which is recessed interiorly and provided with aspringpressed pawl or pivoted cam-lever n, the cam portion 1t of which is held normally by spring-pressure against a pin n2, which pro jects from the inner face of the cap-piece ad jacent to the key-hole O. A second pin 0 projects from the cap-piece in such position as to engagean open-ended slot in the shank ot' the key S, so as to permit the key to berotated for the purpose of actuating the cam lever or pawl n, and a third pin o', also projeeting from the inner face of the cap-piece, is adapted to arrest the movement of the key when the latter has been turned far enough to throw the cam piece or pawl into the path or track of the cam-faced end 7L of the extension 71J of the thimble lil, in which position of the cam-leverthe eamsface 7L' will impinge against the cam portion n ot' thc lever when the knob N is rotated and force the thimble H and the arbor C inward against the pressure of the spring I, so as to disengage the catch E. The interiorly-recessed head N is formed with a depression or countersink NJ to receive the cam portion n of the cam-lever n when the lever is thrown back out ot' the path of the cam-faced end h of the thilnble. Adjacent to said countersink is formed acircular recess or depression to receive the end of the key S, when the latter is inserted in the keyhole of the knob and serve as a bearing therefor when the key is turned to actuate the cam-lever.

The cap-piece N2 has an opening q through the same to receive a set-screw q', as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, which screwis adapted to be screwed into the interiorly-screwthreaded outer end oi' the post G, with its head resting upon shoulders formed by the reduced portion of the opening q, so as to secure the parts of the knob and the thimble in position upon the post and at the same time permit the knob to be rotated t'or the purpose of locking or unlocking the door.

The head N may, if desired, be secured to the cappiece NL by additional screw-bolts; but for ordinary purposes the set-nut q provides a sufficient fastening for these parts. In order to prevent tampering with the lock and derangement thereof, the set-screw q is housed in the opening or countcrsink q of the cap-piece, and is concealed from View by means ot a removable plug Q3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

To limit the movements of the catch E, so as to cause the same to stop in position for the buttonf to engage the slots F F2, the shank of the swinging guideplate E is provided with a curved slot c, which is engaged by a pin c', projecting from the face of the bed-plate A, as shown in Fig. 4, this slot and pin forming a secret stop, which is concealed by the catch E. i

In order to prevent the door from being unlocked from the outside, the handle F may be given a quarter-turn, which will turn the button fathwart the opening F in the bedplate, and in this position of the button it cannot be withdrawn and the latch J will be lOO retained in the keeper and securely held in position with the door locked. The device is thus adapted to serve as a burglar-proof lock, the button being inaccessible to any person on the outside and it being impossible to actuate the latch until such button is released.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The door being supposed to be locked, the buttonf of the latch may be disengaged by drawing upon the knob or handle D from the inside so as to separate the parts E E', as indicated in Fig. 1, in which position the catch E and guide-plateE maybe given aqnarter-turn, so as to bring the button into alignment with the slot F2, as indicated in Fig. 4, in which position of the parts the latch J 011 the inside may be slid back and forth by pressure upon the thumb-piece 1.32 in the usual manner, and

- the knob N on the outside, which is normally loose upon the arbor or thimble, may also be rotated, so as to cause the cam or projection N, secured to the cylindrical shank or barrelof the knob, to engage the lug or campiece M upon the frame II and move the latch J backward, so as to disengage the same fromthe koepel' L. Vhen, however, the button f is in the slot F, it serves as a stop to prevent the frame K from being slid back, and it is necessary to turn the catch so that the button may engage the slot F2 before the latch can be disengaged from the keeper. This may be done from the inside by drawing upon the knob D, as stated, and when the lock is in the last-mentioned position (shown in Fig. et) the latch J may be slid back at pleasure from either the outside or the inside of the room;

but in the former position, with the button in the slot F', the latch cannot be disengaged from the keeper. To unlock the door from the outside, the key S will be inserted in the opening O of the cap-piece N2 until the end thereof rests in a recess or countersink in the portion N of the knob, as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the key may be rotated so as to cause the flange thereof to engage the camlever n and force the cam portion n thereof into the depressed or lowermost portion of the cam-faced end 71. of the thimble H, asindicated in Fig. 3, in which position by turning the knob N the cam-piece n will ride upon the cam-face 71, and force the thimble outward, together with the arbor C and swinging catch E, to the position shown in Fig. l, and thereupon the further rotation of the knob will move the catch E a quarter-turn, so as to permit the button to be forced by the spring I into the slot F2, and then on releasing the cam-lever the knob may be rotated Without affecting the catch, for the purpose of disengaging the latch J, as above described.

The door may of course be locked from the outside by manipulating the key and knob, as described, and turning the catch E in the reverse direction.

It will of course be understood that the construction and arrangement of parts hereinbefore described may be modified in a number of ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, and hence I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction described Vand shown.

If desired, the swinging catch may be actuated from the outside by dispensing with the use of a key and attaching a rotatableknob adapted to be locked to the arbor and forced inward therewith against the pressure of the spring in a manner similar to that described and shown in an application led simultaneously herewith, Serial No. 407,0l6, in which I have described and shown a lock for closets, cupboards, dac., comprising a sliding springpressed catch, secured to an arbor or spindle, which is provided at one end. with a rigid operating-handle and at the other end with an operating-knob, which is normally loose upon the spindle, but adapted to be locked thereto, so as to move the same inward and force the catch out of engagement with the keeper or locking-plate. I do not, however, desire to claim in this application any matter covered by the claims of, said concurrent application, and I disclaim herein the subjectmatter covered by the claims of said case.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A safety-lock comprising the bedplate, the latch, the hollow post, the sliding arbor rotatably secured within said post, the springpressed catch secured to said arbor, the sliding thimble fixed-to said arbor so as to rotate thereWith,the knob adapted t-o rotate freely on said thimble, and means for forcing the thimble and catch inwardly against the spring-pressure so as to disengage the latch, substantially' as described.

2. In combination with the bed-plate, the spring-pressed latch, means for actuating said latch, the swinging spring-pressed catch, the arbor to which said catch is secured rotatably mounted on saidv bed-plate and provided atone end thereof with a rigid cross handle or knob and at the other end with aloose rotating knob, and means for engaging the knob so as to force the arbor inward against`the pressure of the spring and disengage the catch, substantially described.

3. In combination with the bed-plate, the latch, the keeper, the swinging spri 11g-pressed catch, means for operating said catch, and a safety-button whereby the catch may-be sceured so as to bind the operating mechanism thereof and the latch in immovable positions, substantially as described. L

4. In combination with the bed-plate, the latch, the keeper, the swinging spring-pressed safety-catch, the arbor to which said catch is secured, the hollow post, the thimble having the cam-faced extension connected to said arbor so as to rotate therewith, the knob rotatably secured on said thimble, and the cam-lever adapted to engage said thimble and thereby disengage the catch, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the bed-plate, the latch, the swinging spring-pressed catch, the arbor which supports said catch, the sleeve or thimble fixed to said arbor and having the cam-shaped end or extension, the knob rotatably secured on said thimble and the cam-lever secured to said knob, and means for engaging said cam-lever and thimble and thereby disengaging the catch, substantially as described.

6. In combination with the bed-plate, the sliding spring-pressed yoke or frame having the thumb-piece or handle and the latch rigid therewith, the cam-faced projection or lug rigidly secured to said yoke, the rotary knob provided with a cam adapted to engage said lug, and the pins on said bed-plate adapted to engage slots in said yoke so as to guide the IOO IOS

IIO

yoke in its movements back and forth, sub stantially as described.

7. In combination with the bed-plate, the keeper, the latch, the sliding frame which supports said latch, the thumb-piece or handle on said frame, the sliding arbor rotatably mounted on said bed-plate and provided at one end with a rigid operating-handle and at the other end with a rotary knob adapted to actuate the latch, and means, substantially as described, whereby said knob is adapted to actuate the arbor and disengage the catch, substantially as described.

8. In combination with the bedplate, the latch, the swinging spring-pressed catch, the arbor which supports said catch, the hollow post, the thinible or sleeve on said post, the rotary knob jonrnaled on said thimble, the latclractuating cam on said knob, the camshaped extension rigid with said thimble, the spri 11g-pressed cam-lever secured to said knob, and the key whereby said cam-lever is adapted to bc thrown into the path of said camshaped extension so as to actua-te the thimble and arbor and thereby disengage the catch, substantially as described.

9. In combination with the bed-platehaving the vertically and longitudinally elongated slots therein, the swinging catch, the arbor to which said catch is secured, and thespring which is adapted to hold the catch normally in engagement with one of said slots, substantially as described.

l0. In combination with the bed-plate having the catch-receiving slots therein, the sliding spring-pressed latch, the sliding springpressed arbor rotatably mounted on said bedplate, the swinging plate secured to said arbor, and the swiveled safety catch or button carried by said swinging plate and adapted to engage said slots so as to hold the parts locked or unlocked, substantially as described.

1l. In combination with the bed-plate having catch-receiving slots therein, the arbor mounted on said bed-plate, provided with an inner rigid operating-handle andan outer rotary knob normally free to rotate thereon, the swinging spring-pressed catch secured to 12. In combination with the bed-plate, the

latch, the swingingcatch, the arbor which carries said catch, the thimble locked to said arborso as to move therewith, the knob adapted to rotate freely on said thimble and provided with a cam for actuating the latch, the operatinghandle rigidly secu red to said arbor, the canrshaped extension or screw rigid upon said thimble, the cam-lever for engaging said cam-shaped extension, and the key for actuating said cam-lever, substantially as described.

I3. A burglar-proof lock comprising the bed-plate, the keeper, the spring-pressed latch, means for operating' said latch, the swinging springactuated catch provided with a safetybutton, the arbor which supports said catch rotatably mounted on said bedplato, the hollow post, the thimblo on said post, the knob rotatably secured on said thimble, the cross handle or knob rigidly secured to said arbor, the cap-piece, the cam-lever housed in said cap-piece, and the key for actuating said camlever, substantially as described.

11i. In combination with the bed-platc, the sliding spring-pressed frame having the latch, the operating thumb piece or handle, and the cam-faced lug or projection rigid therewith, together with the rotary knob provided with a cam adapted to en gage the lu g on said frame so as to discngagc the latch, substantially as described.

15. In combination with the sliding arbor and swinging spring-pressed catch supported thereby, the swinging guide-plate and the stop for limiting the movements of said plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereoi'I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN PIERS. vVitnesscs:

J oHN LITTLE, HENRY R. SWAN. 

